Category Archives: Newest Blogs (最新ブログ)

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) When I first came to Japan, the English School company I worked for had us write out shochūmimai (summer greeting cards) to all of the students we were in charge of. Shochūmimai are (were) postcards that are sent out from the beginning of July through the start of autumn (around August 7th) to inquire into the addressee’s health. They were ubiquitous when I first got here and I recall writing out more than fifty of them and receiving about a hundred, which required me to write and send out another fifty with those set to arrive after the seventh labeled zanshomimai or “late summer greetings.” They began to disappear during Japan’s recession years and I think I might have received one or two last summer from businesses that still carry on the tradition, but nothing […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) You’ve probably had a blood test and read the word, “Triglycerides” in the results. You might have even wondered what these “triglycerides” are. The body’s main fuel store is adipose triacylglycerol (triglyceride), which is the lipid commonly referred to as “fat.” An average 70kg man has 15kg of stored triacylglycerol (21.24% of his total body weight) and this accounts for about 85% of his total stored calories. Triacylglycerol itself is a molecule that contains three fatty acids made into a single glycerol moiety. When it is completely oxidized into CO2 and H2O it releases 9 kcal/g of energy. Triacylglycerol is a very efficient fuel storage medium since it contains more calories per gram than either carbohydrates (4 kcal/g) or protein (4 kcal/g). Another factor that makes it a good storage medium is that it contains […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) Written June 17, 2019 The weeds were starting to grow in the field where I had the potatoes and onions so I went after them with herbicide. I try to spray during the early morning hours (before 6:30) since the wind picks up later and causes spray drift problems. It seems like I’ve been spraying herbicide all my life; from the oil emulsion mixtures and 2,4-D in elementary school through the paraquat, Round-up, atrazine and other preemergent herbicides on my farm and at the experiment station in Hawaii to the contact, preemergent and systemic herbicides I use today…   噴霧器(Knapsack Sprayer) 後片付けの洗浄(Washing up the sprayer) 草管理 ジャガイモとタマネギの畑に草が生えてきたので除草剤を散布した。風に除草剤が飛ばせないよう明朝（6：30前）に散布するようにしている。 幼い頃から除草剤を散布している感じがする。小学生の頃のコーヒー農園に2,4-Dや水中油型エマルションから野菜農家時や農業試験所勤務の頃のパラコート、ラウンドアップ、アトラジン等の時代を経て現在の除草剤まで、様々な化学製品を使って来た。その経験からはガス以外には100％の物はないと分かった。 **************** English books by Billy Hammond published by AELS (AELS出版英語書籍リスト）   I. Majoh Gakuin and Hikari Juku – Japanese Witch Schools Trilogy 1. Majoh Gakuin & Hikari […]

Teddy Bear China Stock Liquidation via Website Up until about fifteen years ago I used to help overseas Teddy bear artists sell their bears as their representative in Japan. My company would rent space and set up sales booths at Teddy bear shows around the country. We’d display their samples and also sell Teddy bear china, books and other Teddy bear related items. After I got out of the business, the remaining china stock followed me around with each move and wound up at my home where I relocated my business. I finally decided to open up some space by selling it using my website. First, I had to get an SSL certificate and set it up on my site again for the safety and security of potential customers. Next, I needed to set up a link to PayPal. Finally, […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) Written June 15, 2019 The Japanese media recently seems to have embarked on a campaign to run elderly drivers (loosely defined by them depending on the broadcasting company as anyone from 60 to 65 and older) off the roads and get them to turn in their driver’s licenses. Lately viewers have been exposed to a steady stream of news featuring an elderly driver, usually over 65 being the cause of a terrible accident or being involved in some unthinkable driving error like driving against traffic on a one-way street. Most Japanese are probably eating up the footage and swearing that elderly Japanese drivers are a menace that needs to be eliminated, however, when I think about the percentage of people over sixty-five in the Japanese population and the number of accidents being televised, I wonder […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) Written June 15, 2019 I harvested my potatoes yesterday morning. This year’s harvest consisted of small to medium-sized potatoes and was pretty light compared to last year’s. I cut up the seed potatoes too early this year and that influenced the growth and final size of the potatoes. The moral of this year’s crop was that there’s a time and a season for everything in nature and it isn’t a good idea to go against it.   ジャガイモの収穫 昨日の朝、ジャガイモを掘った。今年の収穫は例年よりも少なく、芋の殆どは小～中サイズだった。その理由は自分にある。種芋を早すぎて切ったからだ。今年の収穫の教訓は自然界には適切な時期があるので逆らってはいけない。 *************** English books published by AELS (AELS出版英語書籍リスト）   I. Majoh Gakuin and Hikari Juku – Japanese Witch Schools Trilogy 1. Majoh Gakuin & Hikari Juku – Japanese Witch Schools 2. Lost Witch (The second book) 3. Fate & Magic (The final book in the trilogy) II. Brindle – Scryer Extraordinaire Trilogy 1. Brindle – Scryer Extraordinaire […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) We usually think of doctors saving lives in hospitals, but I had the experience of watching one of my students save the life of another doctor at lunch one day some four years ago. My class at the time was comprised of four doctors: an orthopedic surgeon, a cardiac surgeon, an Ob-Gyn and an internal medicine specialist (the equivalent of a GP in the states). We were having lunch at a local steakhouse when I noticed that the orthopedic surgeon, who was 92 at the time, acting strangely before moving his hands to his throat – the universal sign of choking! I told the group, “I think Dr. XX is in trouble” as I stood up. Everyone focused their attention on Dr. XX. The GP said, “He’s becoming cyanotic” while the Ob-Gyn quietly looked at […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) Most Japanese homes today have the latest washlet high-tech toilets, or at the very least the standard American toilet with a heated seat. When I first came to Japan in 1980, most buildings and homes were equipped with the Japanese style toilet featured in the photo. They’re squat toilets and are used facing the wall plumbing. In today’s Japan, you can still find them here and there in the older buildings, but they’re fast becoming a rarity. Using them improperly can lead to painful results as I wrote about in my blog about an English teacher who had directional differences. 和式便所 現在、殆どの日本の家やビルにある便器は最新型のウォシュレット式または普通の様式になっている。 しかし、来日の1980年（昭和55年）の頃、殆どの便器は和式だった。 これを読んでいる皆様には使い方の説明は不要だけど、外国人にとっては不思議な存在で以前ブログに書いた誤って使った英会話先生もいた。

A friend of mine in Hawaii contacted me for help in locating the whereabouts of the descendants of the family of his sister-in-law. Her great-grandfather’s name was Genichi Masada and he apparently lived in Sakurabatake in Miyanoson in Yamaguchi prefecture. I looked up the town on wiki and found that it was merged with Yamaguchi City on April 1, 1941 and ceased to exist under “Miyanoson.” It is currently a region in the northern part of the city. My friend’s sister-in-law’s family is having a reunion and would like to invite them, but almost all the address information about the ancestor has disappeared over time. I’d like to ask anyone reading this blog who has information about Miyanoson and the Masada family to contact me through a comment. Any help you might be able to provide is appreciated. 山口県宮野村桜畑 ハワイの友人からメールで義理のお姉さんの先祖の子孫についての情報リクエストが入った。曽祖父 […]

By Billy Hammond (Copyright AELS) Amazon’s Echo records your conversations. According to a Bloomberg report a few months ago published on April 11, 2019 Amazon also has thousands of contract and full-time workers around the world analyzing what you said. Is this legal?? Amazon has stated that it only records after detecting the chosen wake word, “Alexa, Amazon, Computer or Echo” or when the user presses a button. According to the article two Alexa (amazon’s AIexa digital assistant) analyzers listened to what was probably a sexual assault in progress, but were told that amazon’s policy was one of non-interference. Looking at other digital assistants, it should be noted that Apple’s Siri also records voices which are stored for six months, although under random identifiers. Google also stores it’s Assistant voice data, but doesn’t relate it to identifiable data. To make […]